Major Broadcast Suppliers Sign On to Assist in Phoenix ATSC 3.0 Model Market

PHOENIX — Five broadcast technology vendors, including Dielectric, Enensys, GatesAir, Harmonic and Triveni Digital, will help television broadcasters in Phoenix make the Pearl TV-led ATSC 3.0 Model Market Initiative a reality.

Stations owned by E.W. Scripps Co., Fox Television Stations, Meredith Local Media Group, Nexstar Media Group, Tegna, Telemundo Station Group and Univision are taking part in the initiative, which will test advanced business models made possible by Next Gen TV.

The initiative also will demonstrate that it is possible to transition to Next-Gen TV while maintaining legacy ATSC 1.0 DTV service.

“We are delighted to announce the first group of technology suppliers who will help make the Phoenix model market a reality,” said Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle in a press release announcing the participation of the companies. “This is just [the] first round of key broadcast equipment vendors who are now at work to create an over-the-air ATSC 3.0 deployment.”

[Read: 2018 NAB Show Marks Next Gen TV’s Arrival]

The Phoenix model market will provide an open test bed for all of the stakeholders in the TV ecosystem, according to a press announcement. Several objectives are planned for the initiative, including: confirmation of basic TV service parameters and performance; determining the appeal of HDR and immersive audio to consumers; assessing TV application features and implementation requirements; testing interactive and addressable ad functionality; and determining consumer device and service appeal, the announcement said.

The initial technology deployment supporting the initiative includes:

  • Dielectric UT8D7F-3K filter, a 3 kW low-loss, high-efficiency, eight-pole, UHF bandpass filter;
  • Enensys ATSCheduler, an ATSC 3.0 broadcast gateway that encapsulated MMT and ROUTE IP streams into an ATSC 3.0 multiplex, allocating data to different sub-frame and physical layer pipes and managing SFN synchronization;
  • GatesAir Maxiva AXTE-3 UHF air-cooled TV transmitter for ATSC 3.0 transmission in Phoenix;
  • Harmonic Electra X ATSC 3.0 encoding and statistical multiplexer media processor to deliver multiple HEVC programs over DASH;
  • Triveni Digital GuideBuilder XM signaling, announcement and transport generator and StreamScope XM advanced monitor and analysis system, both part of the company’s Broadcast Services Management Platform.

All participating vendors will be exhibiting at the 2018 NAB Show, April 7–12, in Las Vegas. Dielectric will be in booth C2613; Enensys will be in booth SU6521; GatesAir will be in booth N3703; Harmonic will be in booth SU610; and Triveni Digital will be in booth N1427.

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.

Phil Kurz

Phil Kurz is a contributing editor to TV Tech. He has written about TV and video technology for more than 30 years and served as editor of three leading industry magazines. He earned a Bachelor of Journalism and a Master’s Degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism.